Chris Amirault

As far as I can tell -- and, believe me, I've been working hard to disprove what I'm about to say -- this is the very last bottle of Inner Beauty Real Hot Sauce on the planet: I became a fan of Inner Beauty two decades ago, when Chris Schlesinger brought his grillin' and BBQin' to Cambridge MA at East Coast Grill. After a while, this legendary hot sauce (mustard-based, with fruit, spices, and habaneros) started appearing in grocery stores throughout NE and became a big hit on the burgeoning hot sauce circuit. It was my go-to hot sauce, and I probably went through a bottle every couple of months during the heyday. But then, for reasons that I've never understood (nor, honestly, been told), Schlesinger stopped making the stuff. It started disappearing from market shelves, so in the early oughts I bought all I could find and hoarded it. Well, until I ate it all, too quickly. See, I was confident that I'd find little caches here and there if I looked hard enough, but for two years I came up empty. I also tried making it based on some recipes floating around, but, well, it's not the same. I gave up hope. Two years ago, while on a trip to visit family in -- of all places -- Bisbee, Arizona, we ambled into a gift store to get a few cold Cokes on a blistering July afternoon. Lurking on the shelves of that tiny store, next to gew-gaws and bric-a-brac, were the last two bottles of Inner Beauty in the world. It took me nearly two years to make my way through the first bottle, and I'm now into the second, and last. I don't know how to think about it. How do you eat the very last of something in the world, something you've treasured for most of your adult life? Do you have little dribs and drabs, spread out over years? Or do you consume it with verve and pleasure, the way it was meant to be enjoyed? The whole concept puts me in an existential dilemma that I have faced, largely, with confusion. Has anyone had a dilemma like this themselves -- or are you in one now? What did -- do -- you do?

In Saudi Arabia, there's a burger chain called Herfy as well as a lot of small shops selling various Middle Eastern foods. There are also dozens of US fast food shops, including Dunkin' Donuts, at which, for reasons that I could never fathom, you cannot purchase an iced coffee, even when the government shuts the city down because it's over 50C outside. (Read more here).)

8 pound bone-in, skin-on butt. Brined for 24 hours, dried, skin scored, rubbed with salt, pepper, and sugar, smoked overnight in the Bradley with hickory pucks. Last night, after I got everything set up outside, it suddenly became cold (40F), turned very windy, and was threatening rain. Following an anxious half-hour rolling around in bed as the screen doors slammed down the street, I decided that I had to move operations just inside the garage and, out of precaution (dinner guests tonight), I turned up the Bradley to high, what with the wind and cold and all. This morning, I woke up, went outside, opened the door, and gave the bone a twist: perfect. Poked in a thermometer: 201F. Let it rest for about 90 minutes and then pulled it. Best butt yet. The simple rub seems to seasoned the pulled pork just right sans sauce. Also, I think that scoring the skin -- right down into the meat in a few spots -- really seemed to break up the collagen and fat more during the smoking/cooking. It was more luscious than ever before, and the pork just fell into ribbons with very little effort on my part. Of course, I'm saving the skin and bones for soup or red beans and rice. (Ditto the pigs' feet that were smoking all night as well.) Later today, the feast. As usual, we'll have =Mark's SC Mustard BBQ sauce, soft white buns, some cole slaw, beer, pickled beets, and pals who were lured away from another social engagement by the siren song of smoke. What could be better?

And the Munchmobile is... what, exactly? I've clicked the link and don't have a very good sense.

I think I'm going to go very simple with the dry cure -- salt, pepper, sugar, and I'll admit I'm going to use a bit of pink salt.

So I went with Matt's brine recipe above but bumped it up quite a bit, as my experience with a few other brines (notably the duck ham from Charcuterie) suggests that these flavors will carry through the dry curing and the smoking. So I added 2 T black pepper, 4 bay leaves, 4 cloves of garlic, 12 juniper berries, 12 allspice berries, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 giant shallot, and a few sprigs of sage.

Made Elie's recipe, more or less, above, and it turned out great. I left the dough out on the counter after grinding it up to allow it to dry out a bit, and that seemed a good idea. I also cooked the felafel too much and they were a bit too crisp (though, certainly, done -- my concern abated at the cost of tenderness). Picked up some of those turnip pickles (at Sonia's on Park Ave in Cranston for the locals), and, boy, they were a great addition.

In Seattle, I see. Tell us more. What is "evolved" exactly about the cuisine?

There is a way, simple as pie, and you can't remember it. I think that I'm in hell. I'm bringing a camera out next time when I try to follow Owen's directions. Fingers crossed.

Keep it simple. Lobster in big chunks with S&P and butter or a tiny amount of homemade mayo/aioli to bind. Roll browned in butter. A few good chips, maybe bread and butter pickles. I serve diced celery, minced red onion, lemon wedges, extra mayo/aioli, and torn lettuce so that people can assemble as they wish. I like a bit of crunch from the celery, myself, but here in RI I'm often feeding purists who'd excommunicate me if I added them to the lobster base.

Do people vary their cuts based on the shape of the onion? For example, Steven's red onion above lacks the irregularities that I often find in the centers of those onions. Since I'm often dicing a red onion finely for raw use (guacamole, usually), I use the horizontal cut if I spy one of those oddly shaped cores. But, usually, yeah, I skip that step for onions.

Welcome, indeed, Mysstwalker! I wonder whether this person might in fact be a food-friend-in-waiting. This dish isn't really a jello and smoked oyster mash up; it's a carefully constructed attempt at a smashing pot luck dish. It's not to my (or, it would seem, most posters') tastes, but I'll bet that most people didn't make special trips to purveyors, create a spice rub, and so on. (I'm stopping short of calling this fusion, you'll be glad to know.)

Thanks for the posts and queries at Niman, Ray. Believe me, there's interest here (and I asked my Whole Foods butcher about the Niman decision when you originally posted)! Here's the link up on the Niman website. Can anyone provide information about defrosting? How long does it take?

For those trying to find the right fava, I found these Goya peeled fava beans at my local (Portuguese) carnicaria and I'm soaking them as I type. Two bucks at my shop, btw.

I have been consistently using Brome Lake ducks, which are pekin ducks and readily available at a local store (East Side Marketplace for those in RI). The good Lac Brome folks don't trim off extra fat and skin (mais oui) so there's always enough, if barely at times.

That's a good question. I'm thinking that the initial brining will allow for better, more even penetration of the basic cure, but I could be wrong. Matt, what ye say?

Thanks, Quiltguy, but I'm looking for the "works every time" solution here, and we both know that pulling the loose end is a fool's errand! Aren't these things designed to provide an easy open? Or not? Or...?!?

Flexnews linked to a Reuters report based on a Pernod Ricard this morning stating that the drought in Australia is severe and may have effects past 2007: I know that Aussie plonk isn't at the top of most wine fans' lists, but it's been my impression that Aussie plonk has helped to transform the low-end wine market in recent years. Makes me wonder what "rather good news" means, exactly. Thoughts?

French Pearl update. As the Pernod seemed to be dominating too much in previous incarnations, I cut it back; now it haunts in the back of the drink and adds a subtler cloud: 2 oz Plymouth gin scant 1/2 oz lime 1/2 oz 1:1 simple syrup 1/8 oz Pernod 10-12 mint leaves Gently muddle the leaves. Add liquids, shake with cracked ice, strain with a fine mesh sieve, garnish with a mint spring. I'm starting to think that a mint simple syrup might be proper, too. Has anyone else tried this?

I just scored a slab of Berkshire pork belly from Matt Jennings (our own stinkycheeseman) at Farmstead here in Providence RI. He asked what I was going to do with it, and I babbled about red cooked pork belly (Grace Young's from a recent Saveur), rillons (Stephane Reynaud's from the new Pork & Sons cookbook), and, of course, bacon. "Berkshire, so you gotta brine it first, man," says Matt. "Couple days, then the dry cure." "Uh huh," says I, nodding like I know what that would actually mean. Well, now I'm home and I'm realizing that I don't really have much of a sense of what precisely I should do to get this beautiful flesh curing. My bacon chops, such as they are, came from working through Ruhlman's Charcuterie (click), which doesn't mention any wet-then-dry curing. However, the dry curing has yielded some slightly spotty results now and then, so I'm game to try brining as an evolutionary advance in my bacon makin'. So, the questions. Any ideas about the brine solution? Should I adjust the dry cure in any way? I'm happy to go by feel at this point, but would the total amount of time curing be reduced because of a more efficacious brine?

We've been regulars for a few years at Sun and Moon Restaurant in East Providence (E on I-195, Warren Ave exit, left, it's on the right). It's run by Eunha Kim and Johngoo Park and their kids, and we've never had a bad meal there (and have had lots of great ones). Recently a student of mine told me that Sura, 300 George Waterman Rd in Johnston, is a great place to go. From the reports I've seen, it appears to have a stronger BBQ emphasis than Sun & Moon. What are people's preferences? Has anyone been to Sura? Does it have charcoal BBQ pits (Sun & Moon does not)? And are there other Korean places out there to discuss?

What fat are you going to fry it in?

So I bring home the bag of charcoal. Thick paper bag with a string sewn into the top to secure it. I'm telling you, I've been stymied for decades trying to figure out how to open the damned thing. I can't do it. I've seen the trick done. You know, guy grabs some part of the string and pulls -- thpppt -- and the whole bag falls open like a time lapse flower blooming. When I pull the string I give myself a rope burn. How do you do it? Photos, please, if possible.

It's really not that much work, either. Most of the time you are breaking down the duck for one reason or another, and if you grab all the skin and fat and use this method, you can get enough fat from a duck to confit the legs. I haven't bought any duck fat in my life.

What can one find in the steam trays at a weekday buffet lunch in Kuala Lumpur?